Sunday Evening – Crimson Corps
February 8, 2004
Introduction
Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, the other
wasn’t. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in
his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a
big fish, he threw it back. The experienced fisherman watched this go on all
day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish. “Why do you keep
throwing back all the big fish you catch?” he asked. The inexperienced
fisherman replied, “I only have a small frying pan.”
Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, the big
dreams, and the big opportunities that God gives us.
I want to dare you to dream of things bigger than your frying pan.
Dare to Dream
(Gen 37:1-11 KJV) And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his
father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. {2} These are
the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the
flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the
sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their
evil report. {3} Now Israel
loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age:
and he made him a coat of many colours. {4} And when his brethren saw that
their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could
not speak peaceably unto him. {5} And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it
his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. {6} And he said unto them, Hear,
I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: {7} For, behold, we were binding
sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and,
behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. {8} And
his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed
have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for
his words. {9} And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and
said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon
and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. {10} And he told it to his father,
and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is
this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren
indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? {11} And his brethren
envied him; but his father observed the saying.
When we read this story, we can get the wrong idea. We can begin to think that Joseph was some
sort of a spoiled brat – tattletaling on his brothers, getting all the good
stuff, filled with silly dreams of being in charge.
But were his dreams silly?
Lesson
God gives dreams
Joseph’s dreams weren’t ordinary dreams.
They were God-dreams.
It’s not just dreaming for the sake of dreaming. It’s not just dreaming
because you can somehow make your own future. Sometimes we dream of the wrong
things:
Illustration
Wrong Dream
A man is walking down the beach and comes across an old bottle. He picks it
up, pulls out the cork and out pops a genie. The genie says, “Thank you for
freeing me from the bottle. In return I will grant you three wishes.” The man
says “Great! I always dreamed of this and I know exactly what I want. First, I
want one billion dollars in a Swiss bank account.” Poof! There is a flash of
light and a piece of paper with account numbers appears in his hand. He
continues, “Next, I want a brand new red Ferrari right here.” Poof! There is a
flash of light and a bright red brand-new Ferrari appears right next to him. He
continues, “Finally, I want to be irresistible to women.” Poof! There is a
flash of light and he turns into a box of chocolates.
We can dream the wrong things, but what if God is the one planting the dream in you?
What happened with Joseph’s dreams? His dreams got him into trouble. His dreams irritated his brothers.
When his dad sent him to check on his brothers one day …
(Gen 37:18-19 KJV) And when they saw him afar off, even before
he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. {19} And they
said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
They ended up jumping him, throwing him in a pit for awhile, and then
selling him to some slave traders headed for Egypt.
(Gen 39:1-6 KJV) And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and
Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him
of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. {2} And
the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house
of his master the Egyptian. {3} And his master saw that the LORD was with him,
and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. {4} And Joseph
found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his
house, and all that he had he put into his hand. {5} And it came to pass from
the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had,
that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing
of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. {6} And he
left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the
bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
Joseph maintained his relationship with God, even though life had taken a
terrible turn.
We don’t know if Joseph became bitter about his “stupid dreams”, but he
didn’t stop serving God.
(Gen 39:7-12 KJV) And it came to pass after these things, that
his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. {8} But
he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what
is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; {9}
There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing
from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great
wickedness, and sin against God? {10} And it came to pass, as she spake to
Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with
her. {11} And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house
to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
{12} And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his
garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
Lesson
Disappointment doesn’t excuse sin
Joseph didn’t let his bad circumstances be a reason to blow his walk with
God.
Jesus told a parable about a farmer throwing out seed on different types of
soil. One type of soil was the rocky
soil. On rocky soil, the plant springs
up quickly, but when the sun gets too hot, the plants die. Jesus said,
(Mat 13:20-21 NLT) The rocky
soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy. {21} But
like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they
get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted
because they believe the word.
Tough times aren’t a time to wilt.
It’s a time to hold on tighter to God.
It’s not a time to give in to temptation. It’s a time to run.
In the end, Potiphar’s wife told lies about Joseph and he ended up in
prison for something he didn’t do. Did
he quit the “God-stuff”? No.
(Gen 39:21-23 KJV) But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him
mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. {22} And
the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were
in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. {23} The
keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because
the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
Lesson
Stay close to God
How can I know if my dream is “my dream” or a “God-dream”. You won’t know if you don’t stay close to
God. All through Joseph’s life we see
this same phrase over and over – “the LORD was with Joseph”.
(Psa 37:4 KJV) Delight
thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
If you’re staying close to God, your dreams will change. God will give you new dreams.
Joseph continued to walk with God. God
continued to walk with Joseph. And, as
time went on, Joseph continued in prison.
(Gen 40:1-8 KJV) And it came to pass after these things, that
the butler of the king of Egypt
and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
{2} And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the
butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. {3} And he put them in ward in
the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph
was bound. {4} And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he
served them: and they continued a season in ward. {5} And they dreamed a dream
both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the
interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt,
which were bound in the prison. {6} And Joseph came in unto them in the
morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. {7} And he asked
Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying,
Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? {8} And they said unto him, We have dreamed
a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not
interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
Lesson
Help others with their dreams
They both told Joseph their dreams, and Joseph ends up helping each man
with his dream. Joseph gives the
“interpretation” for each dream. As it
turned out, each man’s dream came true – the baker would die just as his dream
would predict, and the butler would be released and serve the Pharaoh again,
just as his dream predicted.
Joseph’s dreams hadn’t come true yet, but through his life he’s stayed
familiar with what dreams are all about.
And he’s helping others with their dreams.
Your dreams may not have come true yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t
help others with their dreams.
(Phil 2:3-4 NLT) Don't be
selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of
others as better than yourself. {4} Don't think only about your own affairs,
but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.
Joseph had hoped that helping the butler would be a way to get released
himself. But instead he was forgotten
and stayed in prison.
(Gen 41:1 KJV) And it came to pass at the end of two full
years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river…
Pharaoh will have a couple of absolutely crazy dreams. In one dream, seven big fat cows are eaten up
by seven skinny cows. Then seven fat
stalks of grain are eaten up by seven skinny stalks of grain. I wonder what Pharaoh had for dinner the
night before!
Another dream. You know what
happens. Joseph will be called to
interpret the dream. Pharaoh’s dream was
a prediction of seven years of plenty being followed by seven years of
famine. Joseph would end up being
promoted to the number two spot in Egypt
and asked to manage the Egyptian food supply.
And the day would come when his brothers would come to Egypt
looking for food. And they would find
themselves unknowingly bowing before their brother.
Joseph was seventeen when he got those first dreams. He would spend thirteen more years as a slave
and a prisoner. Then seven years ruling Egypt,
then another two years of famine (totaling 22 years) before his brothers showed
up and found themselves bowing before him.
Lesson
Don’t stop dreaming
Dreams don’t always come true in twenty-four hours. That doesn’t mean they aren’t going to
happen.
Just stay close to the Lord.
Illustration
Follow Your Dream
Jack Canfield (from Chicken Soup for
the Soul Copyright 1993 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen) writes,
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro.
He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for
youth at risk programs. The last time I was there he introduced me by saying,
“I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story
about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go
from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to
ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was
continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper
about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up. “That night he wrote a
seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote
about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch,
showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he
drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a
200-acre dream ranch. “He put a great deal of his heart into the project and
the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his
paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me
after class.’ “The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and
asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’ “The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic
dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant
family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money.
You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and
later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’
Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic
goal, I will reconsider your grade.’ “The boy went home and thought about it
long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look,
son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very
important decision for you.’ “Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the
boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can
keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’” Monty then turned to the assembled group
and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my
4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have
that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the
story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp
out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look,
Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a
dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately
you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.’” Don’t let anyone steal your
dreams.
God has plans for you.
(Eph 2:10
KJV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
It’s our job to find out what those good works are. Perhaps they are in your dreams.
I can tell you God’s first dream for you.
It’s to believe in and follow the Lord Jesus. He died on a cross so you could be forgiven.
Questions at the end:
1. If you could be anything in the world, without worrying about education,
money, or anything, what would you be?
2. Are you going through something tough right now that makes your dream
seem impossible?